Rio Tinto Chairman Warns Mining Deals Won’t Solve Supply Crisis

  • Barton says companies need to discover and build more mines
  • Global M&A has ramped up with metals like copper in focus
WATCH: Rio Tinto’s Dominic Barton says the world needs more mines to offset a coming supply shortfall across commodities. Source: Bloomberg

The world needs more mines to cope with rising demand for key energy-transition metals like copper, as mergers and acquisitions will not plug a looming supply gap, Rio Tinto Group Chairman Dominic Barton said.

“As an industry, we’re not going to inorganic our way out of this challenge,” Barton said in a Bloomberg TV interview, referring to growth through deals. “It’s huge, and it’s in at least five different commodity areas.”